as in shrimp
a person of no importance or influence
the magazine's editor in chief was notorious for treating staffers as insects, often not even bothering to learn their names
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of insects
The varied genus offers tall and creeping varieties, all with succulent leaves that shrug off insects.
—
Jamie McIntosh, The Spruce, 3 Mar. 2026
These insects only emerge from their winter naps when temperatures warm up to a certain point.
—Anne Readel, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Mar. 2026
Encourage the presence of beneficial insects.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 3 Mar. 2026
In daylight, the water insects would scatter, but these children might still have a year or two before their orderly connections were threatened.
—Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026
Local experts break down what’s causing the flurry of biting insects in the winter.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2026
From concept to field deployment According to the company, the platforms combine living insects with bioelectronic neural interfaces, onboard sensors, edge artificial intelligence processing, and secure communications links.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 27 Feb. 2026
Pay attention to what kinds of insects are attending to them.
—Malaka Gharib, NPR, 14 Mar. 2025
The ongoing decline of birds signals a broader crisis in the natural world already documented in global losses in insects, amphibians, and other wildlife.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Jamie McIntosh, The Spruce, 3 Mar. 2026
These insects only emerge from their winter naps when temperatures warm up to a certain point.
—Anne Readel, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Mar. 2026
Encourage the presence of beneficial insects.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 3 Mar. 2026
In daylight, the water insects would scatter, but these children might still have a year or two before their orderly connections were threatened.
—Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026
Local experts break down what’s causing the flurry of biting insects in the winter.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2026
From concept to field deployment According to the company, the platforms combine living insects with bioelectronic neural interfaces, onboard sensors, edge artificial intelligence processing, and secure communications links.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 27 Feb. 2026
Pay attention to what kinds of insects are attending to them.
—Malaka Gharib, NPR, 14 Mar. 2025
The ongoing decline of birds signals a broader crisis in the natural world already documented in global losses in insects, amphibians, and other wildlife.
—Grrlscientist, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insects
Noun
-
The still-unidentified Zodiac Killer, who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1960s, frequently sent threats, demands and ciphers to multiple local papers — namely the San Francisco Chronicle.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The Blind Owl is extremely dense, brimming with metaphors and ciphers and symbols.—
Amir Ahmadi Arian,
The Dial,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In the lightweights, Cash McClurg (108 pounds) and Emilio Escobar (120) won titles, the latter winning 21-5 for a technical fall.—
Breven Honda,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Hughes is one of the world's top lightweights in MMA, the sport where McGregor built his following and name.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Seattle’s John Schneider and New England’s Eliot Wolf rose up from young nobodies to graduate from Green Bay Packers University, too.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Feb. 2026
-
Where else could award winning writers pop off about nothing at all, and nobodies could rattle the ivory towers?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
At scale, this dwarfs data center optimization gains.—
Arjun Sharma,
IEEE Spectrum,
17 Feb. 2026
-
The ditch that’s up to 19 feet deep dwarfs the heavy machinery inside of it.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Insects.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insects. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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